Department for Transport

High Speed Two: Trees

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will require HS2 to publish (1) the number of trees they have removed, (2) the number of trees they have planted, and (3) the areas where these changes have been made.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: (1) HS2 Ltd does not specifically record or count individual trees removed or required for clearance, as recording is undertaken on an area basis (measured by hectare).(2) As part of Phase One alone, HS2 Ltd will plant up to seven million trees and shrubs. Over 700,000 of those trees have already been planted. The area of new woodland will be well in excess of that which is lost. HS2 is creating more than 3300 hectares (33 square kilometres) of new woodland, wildlife and river habitats alongside the line from the West Midlands to London.(3) Woodland areas to be lost as a result of HS2’s construction, and also those sites to be used for woodland creation, are described in the relevant Environmental Statement, published alongside the relevant legislation for each phase of the project.Further updates on HS2 Ltd’s environmental performance, including with respect to the loss of ancient woodland and associated compensation response, will be published in the autumn.

Leader of the House of Lords

Bills: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Lord Goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government which bills they intend to subject to pre-legislative scrutiny in the present Session of Parliament.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The Government intends to subject three draft bills to pre-legislative scrutiny in the present Session of Parliament: Downstream Oil Resilience, Victims, and Online Safety, and is in discussion with the Liaison Committees in both Houses regarding how the draft bills will be scrutinised. As in previous years, it is possible that additional draft bills will be added to the list and therefore this list is not exhaustive.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Local Plans: Industry

Baroness Eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the efforts by local authorities and local economic partnerships to develop local industrial strategies; and what plans they have, if any, toreplace the local industrial strategies with analternative place-based model.

Lord Callanan: The Government has worked with all places, through the Cities and Local Growth Unit (MHCLG/BEIS) to develop Local Industrial Strategies  across England. However, we know that in the four years since the Industrial Strategy was produced, the UK's economic and business environment has changed. Creating and supporting jobs remains the Government's central economic focus, and helping to drive growth in existing, emerging and new industries is also a priority. This is why we have transitioned the Industrial Strategy into our Plan for Growth and its related strategies. As part of this, we are encouraging places to consider key sectors, assets and clusters they want to support to foster their long-term growth ambitions, building on the brilliant work done by places on Local Industrial Strategies. Later this year we will go further by publishing a Levelling Up White Paper setting out how bold new policy interventions will improve livelihoods across the country as we recover from the pandemic.

Small Businesses: Loans

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that small businesses can repay government loans over flexible time frames.

Lord Callanan: We have always been clear that businesses are responsible for repaying any finance they take out. However, we recognise that some borrowers will benefit from additional flexibility with regards to their repayments. That is why we announced the Pay As You Grow measures last year.Pay As You Grow is designed to provide Bounce Back Loan borrowers more time and flexibility over their repayments by giving them the option to:Extend the length of the loan from six years to ten.Make interest-only payments for six months, with the option to use this up to three times throughout the loan.Take up a six-month repayment holiday. This option is available once during the term of their loan. Businesses will be able to use these options either individually or in combination with each other. In addition, they have the option to fully repay their loan early and will face no early repayment charges for doing so.While the Government covers the interest due on Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) loans for the first twelve months of the loan, repayments of capital are required during this period unless the lender chooses to grant additional forbearance measures.CBILS lenders can extend the repayment period for CBILS facilities where this is needed, to a maximum of 10 years. CBILS term extensions are offered at the discretion of lenders, and for forbearance purposes only.

Spaceflight: China

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the landing of a Chinese rover on Mars; and what plans they have, if any,to support the 1979 Moon Agreement, and in particular its principle that the resources of space should not be appropriated by any commercial or state interest.

Lord Callanan: Her Majesty’s Government has noted with interest the successful landing of the Zhurong rover on Mars and we welcome the increased scientific research and understanding of Mars that it will enable. Her Majesty’s Government is not a signatory to the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies; therefore, its principles do not apply to the United Kingdom. However, the Government continues to support the principle that all nations operating rovers on Mars and other celestial bodies abide by the provisions of the UN Outer Space Treaty. The UK actively participates in the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees to define best practice and associated guidelines.

Innovation

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their innovation strategy.

Lord Callanan: In the recent ‘Build Back Better: our plan for growth’ published alongside Budget, the government announced the publication of a new Innovation Strategy in the summer.In line with its commitment, BEIS is currently working across government to develop the Strategy in time for then. The Strategy will outline how we look to achieve our ambitions in innovation and where we want to focus our efforts over the next decade.

OneWeb

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 26 April (HL14697), what proportion of OneWeb launches are anticipated to use small launchers; and what is their assessment of the scale of the market for small launchers sited in Cornwall and Scotland.

Lord Callanan: Launch decisions are a business matter for OneWeb. The company is aware of the UK’s ambitions to launch satellites from Cornwall and Scotland by 2022 and will be encouraged to utilise this launch capability.Based on market analysis conducted to date by the UK Space Agency, we are confident there is a market to support planned UK spaceports in Cornwall, Sutherland, and Shetland.

Trade Marks: Maladministration

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the event of an erroneous trademarking of a trade name by the Intellectual Property Office, they may reverse the trademarking without the need for further legal action by any aggrieved party.

Lord Callanan: The IPO’s examiners undertake a stringent examination of any trade mark application before it is accepted for registration, which includes a search of current trade marks. Once accepted, all applications are published for a 2-month window where anyone can lodge observations or launch a legal opposition. Anyone can submit observations to the IPO and outline reasons why they believe a trade mark should not be registered from the date the application is made until it is registered. This IPO does not charge for this service. The IPO will then consider whether the mark has been accepted in error and can reopen the examination phase if there are grounds to do so. There are more formal legal routes to oppose a trade mark application or invalidate an existing trade mark registration. Whilst these are formal legal processes, the IPO’s Tribunal service is set up to be a low cost and accessible service.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Tigray: Armed Conflict

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of Ethiopian Orthodox priests being murdered in Tigray; and what assessment they have made of religious freedom in Ethiopia.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Minister of State responsible for human rights issues for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, I [Lord Ahmad] tweeted on 11 May to express my deep sadness at the reported murder of priests in Tigray. This is one of an increasing number of horrifying reports of atrocities coming out of Tigray. Civilians must be protected and the violence must stop. We have also stressed the need for Ethiopia to safeguard its incredible diversity of faith and identity in order to uphold freedom of religion and belief.The G7, under the UK Presidency, issued a statement on 2 April and a Communiqué on 5 May condemning human rights violations and abuses in Tigray. The UK also condemned in the strongest terms the reported killings of civilians in Tigray via a joint statement on Ethiopia with 41 other countries at the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council. We support the UN's call for a "zero tolerance" policy and welcome the UN Security Council's 22 April Press Statement expressing their deep concern about allegations of human rights violations and abuses in the Tigray region. The UK will support the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigations with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission into atrocities in Tigray are independent, transparent and impartial and that those responsible for these human rights abuses are held to account. The Foreign Secretary, Minister for Africa and our Ambassador in Addis continue to raise human rights issues in their discussions with the Ethiopian government.

Remittances

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce remittance costs; whether they intend to raise the issue of remittance costs at the upcoming G7 Summit in June; and what plans they have to mark International Day of Family Remittances on 16 June.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Call to Action has raised awareness of the potentially devastating impact of COVID-19 on remittances. Over 40 countries took actions to improve access to remittances and financial services. Some remittance companies waived their transfer fees and offered incentives to senders and receivers of remittances. Two Call to Action Partners (United Nations Capital Development Fund and World Bank) are writing a stocktake report that will analyse key factors and measures taken that have contributed to changes in remittances flows since the start of COVID-19. The report will be published and made public in June.The UK and Swiss Governments will build on the Call to Action coalition, including creating a "Peer-to-Peer Learning platform". This will facilitate learning between remitting countries and key stakeholders.The Call to Action monitors developments at national levels through the World Bank and updates a tracker on the Call to Action website: https://www.knomad.org/covid-19- remittances-call-to-action/#actions.

Overseas Aid

Lord Collins of Highbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 29 April, how much of the 2021–22 Overseas Development Assistance will be allocated to (1) Gavi, the vaccine alliance, (2) the Global Fund, and (3) the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) will spend £1,305 million of Official Development Assistance on global health in 2021/22. This will focus on the UK's position at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19 through our commitments to COVAX, Gavi, and the World Health Organisation, and through bilateral spend where the need is greatest, including in Africa. FCDO will now work through what this means for individual programmes in line with the priorities we have outlined.

British Nationals Abroad: France

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK citizens who are exempt from the requirement for a Schengen visaare also exempt from the requirement for an attestation d’acceuil to stay in France with friends or family; and if not, what steps they intend to take to negotiate a waiver with the government of France for any such requirement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The EU has legislated such that British Citizens can travel visa-free in the Schengen area for short-stays, such as for tourism, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The EU's Schengen Borders Code governs the rules for entry and exit in the Schengen area. EU Member State authorities are responsible for the implementation of these rules. At border control, British Citizens visiting the Schengen area will need to meet the third-country national requirements under the Schengen Borders Code. They should be prepared to show proof of their return or onward travel and proof of accommodation, which is defined in law by the relevant Member State. In France this is the 'attestation d'accueil' certificate if staying with friends or family, or a booking confirmation. In the absence of this, they should be prepared to show they have enough money for their stay. Such a requirement is in line with the treatment of third-country nationals under the Schengen Borders Code. Information, including on entry requirements, for British Citizens planning to travel to EU Member States is available on the country-specific Travel Advice pages published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france

Tigray: Humanitarian Situation

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the World Peace Foundation Starving Tigray, published on 6 May; and what plans they have to raise the humanitarian situation in Tigray at the next UN Security Council meeting.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK shares the call made in the World Peace Foundation report for all parties to the conflict to place the survival and welfare of the affected people above political and military goals. We also share concerns about a continued lack of information about the humanitarian situation and lack of access. The UK has been consistent in calling for the protection of civilians in Ethiopia, unfettered humanitarian access, and respect for human rights. We are deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on food security and nutrition in Tigray, including reports of people dying from hunger. To date the UK has provided £22 million of badly needed support to people in Tigray. UK-funded aid agencies in Tigray are delivering support in challenging circumstances, including food, shelter, water and healthcare. A joint humanitarian and political team from the British Embassy in Addis Ababa visited Tigray 4-5 March, 4-7 April and the week of 19 April.We have spoken about the situation in Tigray in the five 'AOB' discussions on that subject at the UN Security Council and will do so again in the upcoming open debate on Protection of Civilians. We will continue to support discussion in the UN on this pressing matter.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Higher Education

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government why prisoners seeking higher education in prison must be within six years of their release date.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The six-year rule relates to eligibility of prisoners for student loans and is required by the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”). The rationale for this regulation is that prisoners studying an undergraduate degree in prison would take six years to complete on a part-time basis. Prisoners who wish to complete an undergraduate degree must self-fund if they have more than six years left on their sentence. Prisoners can also apply to the Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) to fund Open University ‘access to higher education’ courses.

Prisoners: Higher Education

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners are currently enrolled in higher education.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: We do not hold information centrally on the number of prisoners currently enrolled in higher education. However, the Open University reports that around 1295 prisoners were registered for Open University courses in England in 2020/21.

Prisoners: Higher Education

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the effect on re-offending rates of prisoners participating in higher education while serving their sentences.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The Ministry of Justice has enabled the Open University and the Prisoners’ Education Trust to use The Justice Data Lab to explore the rates of reoffending for prisoners participating in higher education. The Justice Data Lab provides group-level reoffending information to organisations who have worked with offenders and would like to understand the impact of their intervention. The Justice Data Lab Analysis (2019) reports that 14% of people who studied for an OU degree committed a proven reoffence within one year, compared to 18% who did not.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Infrastructure: Carbon Emissions

Lord Newby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the proposed Planning Bill contains provisions to require the impact of any new infrastructure proposal to be assessed against the ability to achieve the UK's net-zero carbon emissions target.

Lord Greenhalgh: National planning policies already recognise the importance of sustainable development, and make clear that reducing carbon emissions should be considered in plan and decision making. The Government is considering how the planning system can further support our commitment to reaching net zero, including through the planning reform programme and the forthcoming Planning Bill. Our response to the Planning for the Future White Paper, setting out next steps on these reforms, will be published in due course.

Immigration: Hong Kong

Lord Mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual budget for reception centres for Hong Kong residents seeking to live in the UK; where they plan to locate any such reception centres; and how many, if any, are currently operational.

Lord Greenhalgh: MHCLG is providing over £5 million to fund 12 new Welcome Hubs across the UK – nine in England, mapped to the nine English regions, and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. By utilising existing Strategic Migration Partnerships and other important local connections, these hubs will help to ensure a warm welcome for all Hong Kong BN(O) status holders by providing practical advice and assistance to all BN(O)s who require it.

Oxford-Cambridge Arc

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide in relation to the Oxford-Cambridge Arc (1) a list of members on the inter-ministerial group, (2) a list of members on the inter-departmental Board, (3) a list of all meeting dates since March 2019 of (a) the inter-ministerial group and (b) the inter-departmental Board; whether they plan to place the minutes of these meetings in the Library of the House and, if so, when.

Lord Greenhalgh: Government is re-establishing the Inter-Ministerial Group for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and there will be a meeting of this shortly, to which Ministers across Government, from Environment and Transport to Business and Trade, will be invited to attend.The Oxford-Cambridge Arc Portfolio Board, chaired by the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government, has senior representation from DEFRA, BEIS, DfT, DIT, HMT, No10 and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).We will continue to manage and record these Boards in line with Departmental requirements and procedures.

Housing: Construction

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by the Local Government Association, published on 20 February 2020, which found that more than a million homes granted planning permission in the past decade have not yet been built; and what plans they have empower local authorities to incentivise developers to expedite the building of housing already granted planning permission.

Lord Greenhalgh: As the Local Government Association have themselves stated, in some cases there are legitimate reasons as to why development stalls. Perhaps, for example, the landowner cannot get the price for the site they want, or the development approved is not viable, or supply chain constraints hinder starting. Sir Oliver Letwin highlighted in his 2018 review on the topic, building on the work of Dame Kate Barker and many others before them, that, as such, the often-repeated idea of housebuilders ‘sitting on’ land is overstated.Nevertheless, this Government is clear that new homes should be built out as soon as possible. Where build-out is delayed, it is for councils and developers to work closely together to overcome any barriers. To ensure this happens, we are exploring further options to support faster build-out as part of our proposed planning reforms.

Economic Growth: Coronavirus

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Covid Recovery Commission Ambition 2030: A Partnership for Growth, published on 27 April;and what plans they have to implement its recommendations.

Lord Greenhalgh: We welcome the good work done by the Covid Recovery Commission in considering how a long-term national prosperity plan can deliver growth and increase living standards in the UK.As we emerge from the pandemic, we need a plan which ensures we Build Back Better from COVID-19. That is why we have published Building Back Better: our Plan for Growth. Building on this, we will publish a Levelling Up White Paper later this year setting out how bold new policy interventions will improve livelihoods across the country as we recover from the pandemic.We will continue to review and consider recommendations made by the Covid Recovery Commission in future policy.

Regional Planning and Development

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the Levelling-Up white paper; and whether the white paper will seek to increase the spread, funding and powers of metro mayors.

Lord Greenhalgh: Later this year we will publish a Levelling Up White Paper setting out how bold new policy interventions will improve livelihoods across the country as we recover from the pandemic.We remain committed to devolving power to people and places across the UK. Our plans for strengthening local accountable leadership will now be included in the Levelling Up White Paper.

Ministry of Defence

Navy: Deployment

Lord Coaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the objectives of the Carrier Strike Group deployment; and how achievement of these objectives will be measured.

Baroness Goldie: The Carrier Strike Group deployment is an embodiment of the Government's Integrated Review, and has significant diplomatic, trade and security objectives: Send a clear message to our allies and adversaries that the UK can, and will, play a global leadership role, exerting influence on bilateral and regional issues to achieve HMG objectives and acting as a force for good in the world;Prove our leading role in NATO through the strength of our capability, our readiness to operate closely with Allies, and our interoperability with the US and others;Put the Integrated Review into action, underlining the UK's commitment to an enduring presence in the Indo-Pacific and win support for our goals and objectives there;Reinforce existing UK international relationships and networks, and strengthen links with NATO's partners around the world. Establish new links with a broader audience, furthering defence engagement, political and prosperity objectives;Promote UK industry, technology and export sales across the breadth of the UK's commercial strengths. Improve trading relationships and trade cooperation, as well as pursuing investment prospects, especially in competitive markets; andBuild relationships between key officials and organisations. The achievement of these ambitious and pan-Government objectives will be measured over time and in numerous ways, including public media and communications, complex interoperability tasks, exercises and missions, and increased investment, sales and trade arrangements. Importantly, the Carrier Strike Group deployment should not be viewed as a stand-alone event but as a contribution to a broader network of military, diplomatic and trade activity over the coming years.

Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons: Costs

Baroness Blower: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current annual cost of the Ministry of Defence's nuclear enterprise.

Baroness Goldie: The forecast cost of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise for financial year 2021-22 is £6.5 billion, around 14 per cent of the £46 billion Defence budget.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentre Plus: Staff

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the 13,500 recruited work coaches since March 2020 have started work in Jobcentres.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Over 13.5k new Work Coaches have completed their initial learning and are now delivering Jobcentre services.

Jobcentre Plus: Staff

Baroness Sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Jobcentre work coaches are employed (1) in total, and (2) as full-time equivalents.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The latest confirmed figure for Work Coaches, was taken on 31st March 2021 and is a headcount of 27,286, this is 24,956 full-time equivalents (based on contractual hours).

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Crops: Waste

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that this year’s agricultural crops do not go to waste.

Lord Benyon: Defra is working closely with industry and other Government departments to understand labour supply and demand, and to help our world-leading growers access the labour they need to ensure our crops are picked and not wasted. The Seasonal Workers Pilot has been expanded for one year, with 30,000 visas granted for workers to come to the UK, from EU or non-EU countries, for a period of up to six months to pick and package fruit and vegetables on our farms. In 2021 and beyond, food and farming businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 4.9 million EU citizens and their families have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and the application deadline is 30 June 2021. EU nationals who have settled status can continue to travel to the UK to do seasonal work in 2021. The Government is encouraging the horticulture sector to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in automation technology. To help with these efforts, Defra will build on the success of last year’s domestic recruitment campaign, working with industry and the DWP to raise awareness of career opportunities within the horticulture sector among UK workers. We will also explore the potential for automation to meet future labour demands of the sector. Defra is leading a Government review of automation in horticulture to understand what is required to accelerate the development and uptake of automation technologies in both the edible and ornamental sectors, in England, with the view to reducing the sector’s long-term dependency on seasonal migrant labour. The review’s final report will be published in the summer of 2021 and inform a range of policy decisions regarding automation and seasonal labour from 2022 onwards.

Cabinet Office

Question

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the implementation of theProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and the commitments it contains.

Lord Frost: The Government’s policy has been for the Protocol to be operated in a pragmatic and proportionate way, protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimension and minimising its impact on everyday lives in Northern Ireland. In doing so, the Government has developed significant measures to support businesses, such as the Trader Support Service, Movement Assistance Scheme and UK Trader Scheme. Nevertheless, there have been significant difficulties in the Protocol’s operation, and solutions must be found rapidly. We are working through the structures of the Withdrawal Agreement to find pragmatic ways forward in a range of problem areas. We look to the EU to show a common sense, risk-based, approach.

Mobile Phones: Emergencies

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord True on 21 April (HL Deb, col 1833), what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the trial of a cell broadcast emergency alert system in Reading in March.

Lord True: The trial in the Thames Valley area on 9 March 2021 successfully tested Cell Broadcast technology on mobile networks using phones pre-prepared to receive alerts. Having proven the technology to be effective, the Government conducted a live public trial of the Emergency Alert system in East Suffolk on 25 May and plans to conduct another public trial in Reading City Centre on 15 June. Should these prove successful, the Government plans to send out a National Welcome Message across the UK later this year.

Coronavirus: Death

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish statisticson the number of people who died from COVID-19, as opposed to the number who died from other causes but had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death.

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of excess deaths recorded in the COVID-19 death statistics of people who did not die from COVID-19, but who are listed in the statistics because they had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond. Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician The Rt Hon the Lord BlencathraHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW 25 May 2021 Dear Lord Blencathra, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions asking what plans there are to publish statistics on the number of people who died from COVID-19, as opposed to the number who died from other causes but had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death (HL258); and the number of excess deaths recorded in the COVID-19 deaths statistics of people who did not die from COVID-19, but who are listed in the statistics because they had a positive COVID-19 test within 28 days of their death (HL259). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales and publishes a weekly bulletin[1] based on provisional mortality data. Cause of death is defined using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10). The ICD-10 codes used are: U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified), U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified), U10.9 (Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19), U09.9 (Post-COVID condition, where the acute COVID had ended before the condition immediately causing death occurred). Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The death certificate is completed by a doctor (or coroner), who can certify the involvement of COVID-19 based on symptoms and clinical findings – a positive test result is not required. Diseases and health conditions are recorded on the death certificate only if the certifying doctor or coroner believed they made some contribution to the death, direct or indirect; the death certificate does not include all health conditions the deceased might have suffered from if they were not considered relevant. Therefore, ONS statistics on deaths involving COVID-19 do not include deaths from causes other than COVID-19 but where the deceased had a positive COVID-19 test result. A death is not counted as involving COVID-19 on the basis of a test result only. ONS data are different from the figures on COVID-19 deaths published on the GOV.UK Coronavirus in the UK dashboard[2] which shows ‘deaths within 28 days of a positive test’. Section 7 of the ONS weekly deaths bulletin[3] compares these numbers. You can read a blog by Professor John Newton of Public Health England[4] which explains the different methods for counting COVID-19 deaths.  Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest[2]https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending7may2021#comparison-of-weekly-deaths-occurrences-in-england-and-wales[4]https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/08/12/behind-the-headlines-counting-covid-19-deaths/

Immigration Controls: Coronavirus

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons they are learning from other countries about effective border controls in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; and what they are doing to put those lessons into effect.

Lord True: Governments around the world have had to strike the correct balance between border restrictions and ensuring that essential travel remains possible. The UK has one of the toughest border regimes in the world. We are taking a cautious approach to open up international travel to protect the UK from variants of concern and new infections while the vaccine roll-out is ongoing. Given the challenge we see with the spread of new variants and the situation in many countries around the world, we must make sure that the countries we reconnect with are safe. The recently introduced traffic light framework aims to protect public health whilst facilitating international travel, allowing families and friends to reunite and our businesses to start thriving again. This analysis of border measures is one of many policies that are continuously inspected as an international comparison, alongside an array of other non-pharmaceutical interventions that are taken by countries in their response to COVID-19.

Public Value Review

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the findings of Sir Michael Barber's “rapid review” of Government delivery.

Lord True: Sir Michael Barber conducted a rapid review to help ensure the Government is in the very best shape to level up and build back better from the pandemic. Rather than documenting specific findings in a report, Sir Michael gave operational advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary on how a refreshed delivery unit could be established. This approach was accepted and the creation of the new No10 Delivery Unit was announced on 21 April.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Events Industry: Coronavirus

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the (1) results of, (2) guidance arising from, the Events Research Programme.

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish (1) the results, and (2) any arising guidance, from the Events Research Programme.

Baroness Barran: Research findings from the Events Research Programme’s first phase of pilots will be published on GOV.UK shortly. The Government has committed to taking a cautious approach to easing restrictions, guided by data instead of dates, to avoid another surge in infections that could put unsustainable pressure on the NHS. The roadmap sets out indicative, “no earlier than” dates for each step which are five weeks apart. Each full step of our roadmap will be informed by the latest available science and data and will be five weeks apart in order to provide time to assess the data, providing one week’s notice to businesses and individuals.

BBC Monitoring: Television Licences

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the significance of BBC Monitoring to (1) UK, and (2) global, security will be a factor whenthey make decisions about the future funding level of the licence fee at the next spending review.

Baroness Barran: The BBC is responsible for the funding, staffing and administration of Monitoring, which is provided under a specific agreement between the BBC and government. The monitoring service is funded through the licence fee and there are no plans to change this arrangement. It is the Licence Fee Settlement, not the spending review, which will determine the BBC’s public funding for at least 5 years from April 2022. On 10 November the government announced the formal opening of the process and subsequently the Secretary of State has received evidence from the BBC about its financial needs. Negotiations for the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement are ongoing and the Secretary of State will update the house in due course.

Football: Finance

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review financial support provided to lower tier football clubs following the COVID-19 pandemic, including support to football club community projects.

Baroness Barran: Football clubs form a vital part of their local communities, which is why the Government has provided significant support to lower tier clubs throughout the pandemic. Many football clubs have benefited from the Government’s multi-billion pound package of cross-sector business support whilst Sport England has provided £220 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35 million Community Emergency Fund. The Government has also provided over £24 million of support to non-league clubs from the Sport Survival Package. The Government will continue to support local football clubs through its £18 million annual investment via the Football Foundation, alongside The Football Association and the Premier League, into football facilities. This three-way partnership sees £70 million of investment into community facilities every year. At Budget, the Chancellor also announced that the Government will provide an additional £25 million to support the growth of grassroots football, which will be enough to build up to 700 new pitches across the UK. The Government will continue to examine ways to support lower tier clubs as we emerge from the pandemic.

World Heritage Sites: Liverpool

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have had with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation about Liverpool’s World Heritage Status; and what responses they received during any such discussions.

Baroness Barran: My Department has had regular discussions with UNESCO since Liverpool was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012, and we will continue to do so. The views expressed by officials in UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre are consistent with those set out in the Decisions of the World Heritage Committee on the measures it expects to be taken if Liverpool’s world heritage status is to be protected.

Events Industry: Coronavirus

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to a Government-backed indemnity for live events after the Stage 4 lifting of restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Barran: This Government recognises the importance of the UK’s live events sector and has provided significant financial support to cultural organisations, particularly through the Culture Recovery Fund.As the Secretary of State made clear at the DCMS Select Committee on Thursday 13th May, the government is aware of the wider concerns around securing indemnity for live events and we continue to assess options to provide further support to the sector within the public health context, engaging with relevant stakeholders as necessary.We need to be confident that any intervention would lead to an increase in activity, and that insurance represents the last barrier to events reopening. The government’s first priority is to remove remaining barriers (such as social distancing) by reaching Stage 4 of the Roadmap.

Television Licences: Enforcement

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they have taken since January to ascertain the impact of alternative enforcement schemes for the BBC licence fee.

Baroness Barran: The government is considering decriminalisation of TV licence evasion and other possible reforms to the licence fee system to increase fairness and proportionality within the broader context of the ongoing licence fee settlement. The government may in future undertake a further, technical consultation on the possible alternative civil sanctions to set out in more detail how alternative schemes could work in practice.